Delhi HC
Delhi HC rejects pleas seeking removal of Afzal Guru and Mohammad Maqbool Bhat's graves from Tihar Jail
New Delhi/IBNS: The Delhi High Court has rejected the petitions seeking the removal of graves of 2001 Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru and Kashmiri separatist Mohammad Maqbool Bhat from the Tihar Jail premises in Delhi, media reports said.
The court said the judicial intervention would be unwarranted as there is no law that bars burial or cremation inside prison premises.
The competent authority could only decide on it, the court said.
The court said as quoted by Hindustan Times, "But removing a grave which has existed for the last 12 years... The government decided this at the time of execution, keeping in view the fallout of handing over the body to the family or burial outside the jail.
"These are very sensitive issues, with many factors considered. Can we now challenge that decision after 12 years?"
The petition had sought the relocation of the graves to a secret location to avoid "glorification of terrorism" and prevent misuse of Tihar Jail premises, Hindustan Times reported.
The plea argued the graves have turned into a site of "radical pilgrimage".
"This not only undermines national security and public order, but also sanctifies terrorism in contravention of the principles of secularism and the rule of law under the Constitution of India," the plea stated as quoted by the daily.
A Kashmiri separatist, Afzal Guru was convicted for his role in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack (carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed militants).
He was hanged on February 9, 2013 in Tihar Jail.
His execution remains a deeply polarizing issue — separatists hail him as a martyr, while India views it as justice against terrorism.
His burial inside Tihar, without handing over his body to his family, caused significant resentment in Kashmir.
Founder of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Maqbool Bhat was involved in the 1966 hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Lahore (carried out by JKLF members).
He was convicted for the murder of an Indian intelligence officer in the 1960s.
Maqbool was hanged on February 11, 1984 in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
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